by Kizito Sikuka – SANF 16 no 47
“The elections are over…We know that elections, like any other competitive enterprise have the ability to bring out the most selfish aspects of our humanity.”
“Let us seize the opportunity to rise above the different points of view that divided us. The temptation to believe that only our solutions alone are the best is an ingrained human deficiency.”
These words were said by the newly re-elected Zambian President Edgar Lungu on 13 September during his inaugural ceremony where he extended an olive branch to the opposition and called for peace and national unity.
“Prosperity for all cannot be achieved in an acrimonious environment. Without peace, there can be no development. Without peace, our current achievements can easily be undermined, without peace, there can be no stability in the nation,” he said, adding that “it is only in a peaceful environment that we can build on our achievements and attain greater prosperity for all.”
President Lungu said as leader of the country he will ensure all Zambians despite the political affiliations benefit from various socio-economic activities, programmes and projected initiated by the government.
“Zambia belongs to all of us who live and work in it… Even those who didn’t vote for me, I won’t let you down,” he said.
He said his priority focus will be on improving key areas of the economy including agriculture, health services, and education as well as diversifying the economy, which mainly depends on copper mining.
“I want to lead a green revolution that must culminate in sustainable national food security from individual actions of each one of us,” he said.
“Our new mission must now is also to give ourselves the ability and confidence to be masters in our own destiny. We must begin to conclusively wean our economy from the current copper mining dominated mono-economy. In this new dispensation we must promote and sustain agriculture to become one of the main drivers of our diversification programme.”
On cases of violence witnessed in the pre and post-election era, he said an “an inquiry to establish the cause and perpetrators of the post-election violence” would be established “so that the nation can learn from such mistakes.”
Lungu, who is leader of the Patriotic Front (PF), won the 11 August presidential elections after garnering total of 1,860,877 votes against 1,760,347 polled by his closest rival, Hakainde Hichilema of the main opposition United Party for National Development (UPND).
However, his swearing-in ceremony was delayed for about a month after Hichilema mounted a court challenge in which he contested the outcome of the poll and wanted Lungu disqualified for rigging and inciting violence.
The Constitution Court of Zambia dismissed the application on 9 September, after which Hichilema took it to the Supreme Court of Zambia, who also rejected the application on 12 September, paving the way for the inauguration ceremony held on 13 September that was attended by leaders from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as well as other from across Africa.
According to a law introduced in January, a winner of a presidential vote cannot be sworn in if their victory is contested in court.
The votes garnered by Lungu were enough to secure at least 50 percent of the valid votes as per the amendment to the Zambian Constitution adopted in January.
Lungu amassed 50.3 percent of the valid votes cast against Hichilema, who got 47.67 percent of the votes.
Under the previous Zambian Constitution, the president was elected using the first-past-the-post system under which the candidate with the highest number of votes was elected, even if they scored less than 50 percent of the valid votes cast.
The inauguration of Lungu also saw Inonge Wina, who was his running mate, being sworn-in as the new Vice-President, the first woman to hold the post.
In the past, a vice-president was appointed by the president. The introduction of running mates under the new Constitution will allow the vice-president to take over as president in the event of the incumbent being incapacitated to lead the country.
Under the constitutional amendment, the vice-present can assume power for the remainder of the president’s tenure.
Such a development avoids the need for early elections as was the case last year following the death of President Michael Sata in October 2014. Early elections were also held in October 2008 after President Levy Mwanawasa died in June of the same year.
Most regional and international election observers deployed across the country to observe the closely contested polls have said the elections were held in conformity with regional and international standards.
A preliminary statement released by the SADC Election Observer Mission said the elections were credible and praised Zambians for the peaceful atmosphere prior and during the poll.
Lungu becomes the sixth Zambian president since the country got its independence from Britain on 24 October 1964.
Lungu first took over power in 2015 after a presidential by-election following the death of former president Michael Sata in 2014. sardc.net
